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By Oscar Okhifo, Abuja
The National Chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), Chief Kenneth Udeze, has debunked reports that a Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, ordered the arrest and imprisonment of the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
Udeze described the reports as false, misleading, and a product of desperation by a faction loyal to expelled party member, Adekunle Rufai-Omoaje.
In a statement on Thursday in Abuja, the AA chairman urged Nigerians and party members to disregard the claims, insisting that no such court order exists.
“It has come to our notice that some individuals are circulating false claims that a court ordered the arrest of former INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. I want to categorically state that there is no such judgment. Nigerians should disregard such rumours,” Udeze said.
Reports earlier in the day had alleged that Justice Adefunmilola Demi-Ajayi of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, ordered the arrest of Prof. Yakubu for allegedly failing to obey a judgment directing INEC to re-list some national officers of the party. The suit, marked FHC/OS/194/2024, was said to have been filed by Omoaje and his group, who claimed to be the authentic leaders of the Action Alliance.
But Udeze maintained that the so-called judgment was “fraudulently procured” and holds no legal weight, stressing that the leadership dispute within the AA had long been settled in his favour by competent courts, including the Court of Appeal.
“The issue of who leads the Action Alliance has been conclusively resolved by both the trial court and the Court of Appeal in favour of the Chief Kenneth Udeze-led national leadership. After losing in several courts in Abuja, Omoaje and his agents ran to Osogbo to obtain this fraudulent judgment,” he said.
Udeze assured party members that legal steps were already being taken to vacate the Osogbo judgment and reaffirmed his leadership as legitimate.
“The Action Alliance faithfuls across Nigeria and beyond should remain calm and law-abiding. The national leadership has directed our legal team to take every lawful step to set aside this fraudulent order,” he added.